Metal and Colorbond Roofing across Liverpool and Fairfield

Where metal roofs actually go wrong here

Most of the metal roof problems we are called to in Liverpool and Fairfield are not the sheets. They are the details around the sheets.

• Fixings. Screws over-driven, under-driven or driven on an angle, so the rubber washer never seals. Add forty-degree summer days and years of expansion and contraction, and the holes open up.
• Flat runs. A patio or rear skillion laid at a pitch below what the profile is rated for. Water sits, finds a lap and goes backwards.
• Laps and ends. Side laps the wrong way round for the prevailing weather, or end laps with no sealant.
• Where metal meets tile. The single most common fault in this area. A steel patio roof butted against a tiled house with nothing more than a bead of silicone.
• Swarf. Sheets cut on top of the roof with a grinder. The hot filings land on the coating and rust into it, leaving a field of orange freckles a couple of years later.
• Mixed metals. Copper or unprotected steel in contact with the Colorbond coating, which corrodes the sheet from the point of contact outward.

If your roof has any of that, call (02) 4601 3500 and we will come and look at it.

Why metal suits this part of Sydney

Three reasons, all practical.

Heat. Western Sydney runs hotter than the coast in summer, and roofs carry that load every day. A steel roof with sarking under it and a ventilated roof space sheds heat faster than a heavy tile roof that stores it and radiates it into the ceiling all evening.

Hail. South-west Sydney gets hail. Steel can dent, and we are honest about that. But a dented sheet is still waterproof, while a cracked tile is an open hole. For houses that have already been through one hail event, that difference matters.

Shape. Most houses out here have had something added to the back: an extension, an enclosed patio, a laundry skillion. Those added sections are usually too flat for tiles. Sheet roofing works at low pitch where tile does not, which is why so many of these additions are metal in the first place.

What we install

• Full house re-roofs in Colorbond, replacing tile or old steel
• Patio, carport and pergola roofs, including the flashing back into the existing house roof
• Rear extension and skillion roofs at the correct pitch for the profile
• Garages, sheds and workshops
• Re-sheeting of old galvanised iron on original outbuildings
• Flashings, cappings, barge and ridge detail on existing metal roofs
• Whirlybirds, vents and skylights flashed into sheet roofing
• Gutters and downpipes to match, where they are part of the job

Strip and re-sheet, not cover over

When we replace a house roof in steel, the old roof comes off. That is the only way to see the frame, fix soft battens, get sarking in and know what you are leaving behind.

The run of work:

1. Strip the old roof in sections, so the house is never left open
2. Check and replace battens, re-spaced for the sheet profile
3. Lay reflective sarking over the rafters
4. Lay and screw sheets, working into the prevailing weather
5. Flash every junction, penetration and change of pitch
6. Fit ridge, barge and apron cappings
7. Hang or re-hang gutters, fit downpipes
8. Clean up, clear the gutters, hand over the written warranty

Commercial and industrial roofs

Wetherill Park, Smithfield, Prestons and Yennora carry a lot of factory and warehouse roofing: long sheet runs, internal box gutters, translucent sheets that have gone brittle, and parapet flashings. Those roofs fail differently to houses. The sheets usually outlast the box gutters and the rooflights.

We quote re-sheets, sheet replacement, box gutter repairs and rooflight replacement on commercial buildings as well as homes. Access, roof traffic and the need to keep the building operating all get worked into the quote.

What moves the price

• Roof area, pitch and the number of ridges, hips and valleys
• Profile and gauge of the sheet
• How much flashing the job needs, which is driven by how many additions join the roof
• Access, storeys and where sheets can be lifted from
• Whether old sheeting is bonded asbestos cement, which must be removed under the SafeWork NSW rules
• Gutters, insulation and ventilation if you add them

Inspection and written quote are free, with the optional items priced separately.

Get it looked at

We work across Wattle Grove, Hoxton Park, Bossley Park and every suburb on the service areas list.

If you are weighing metal against a tile restoration or a tile replacement, say so when you call and we will price both.

Call (02) 4601 3500 or request a free quote.